YANA (You Are Not Alone) received a $1,000 donation from the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) as part of the union’s Building Communities Together program.

YANA was nominated by Michael Crumpler, who is a member of Construction and Allied Workers’ Union, Local 68, affiliated with CLAC. Michael is employed by Pyramid Corporation.

YANA provides four furnished apartments for families of patients being treated at BC Children’s Hospital. The apartments are within walking distance of the hospital.

The charity provides funding and support for travel costs for all necessary out-of-town medical treatments. It helps families within the Comox Valley stay together while caring for their sick children out of town.

“The success of YANA has helped over 1,000 families in our community,” says Corrina, Michael’s wife. "The closest children's hospital is an hour-and-a-half drive with a two-hour ferry ride, and with Vancouver being one of the most expensive places to live, the burden of caring for a sick child is tremendous while having to stay there.

“We came to know YANA on Feb. 14, 2008 when our oldest son, Owen, was born at 25 weeks, three-and-a-half months prematurely, and weighed just over two pounds. Owen and his father were airlifted from our local hospital immediately to BC Children's Hospital.

"Owen was on and off breathing tubes for 100 plus days where he continued to grow and develop his lungs. YANA was with us every step of the way, providing us an apartment to live in, financial and continuous emotional support.

“At 10 weeks old when we were getting close to discharge, we suffered a blow. We found out that Owen had suffered brain damage, resulting in Owen being diagnosed with cerebral palsy. This has required ongoing medical attention, clinic visits, and lots of therapy — all of which are in Vancouver and all of which YANA supports.

“If it wasn't for YANA, we wouldn't have been able to tackle this as a family. I am a strong believer in this because Michael and I were able to stick together for Owen while he was on his road to recovery and he is here with us today — a bright, happy, smart, young boy. Because YANA supports us with Owen's ongoing treatments, Owen will be able to keep learning and develop into an outstanding young man.

“Thank you YANA for keeping our family together when we needed it the most, and thank you CLAC for letting us be the proud recipients of this donation to such a wonderful organization.”

CLAC is an independent Canadian labour union representing over 55,000 workers in a wide range of sectors ― construction, health care, retail, service, transportation, manufacturing, and others. Based on principles that promote the values of respect, dignity, fairness, and integrity, CLAC’s approach to labour relations stresses membership advocacy, cooperation, and the long-term interests of the workplace community.